A normal user's look into the world of 3D Stereo Technologies

The owners of a 2010 model of a Mitsubishi 3D DLP HDTV have a reason to be happy, as the company announced it will make available a free software update to owners of 738 and 838 series 3D DLP Home Cinema TVs that will add support for stereoscopic 3D video transmission using the specifications defined in the HDMI 1.4a standard. The software updates for the 738 and 838 series Mitsubishi 3D-ready TVs will be available later today and will support all mandatory 3D signal formats prescribed by HDMI 1.4a, so all upgraded Mitsubishi 738 and 838 3D TVs will now be compatible with sources such as Blu-ray 3D players and satellite and cable 3D set-top boxes and 3D-capable game consoles, without the need for a special 3D adapter.

The new 3D TV software upgrade will be downloaded automatically and free-of-charge to 738 and 838 series Mitsubishi 3D DLP Home Cinema TVs that are connected to the internet. For those 738 and 838 series Mitsubishi TVs not connected to the internet, there are two options for integrating the 3D TV software upgrade. Owners can download the free software to a USB stick, which can then be input to the TV for a complete and simple upgrade. For those owners who do not wish to download the free software, Mitsubishi will provide upon request a USB stick with the software upgrade pre-loaded for a nominal fee. After the update of the software to version 012.06 the Mitsubishi 738 series and 838 series 3D televisions will support the 3D signals known as Frame Packing 1080p/24Hz and 720p/60Hz (primarily from Blu-ray players and gaming consoles), Side-by-Side in 1080i/60Hz, 1080p/24Hz/30Hz/60Hz and 720p/60Hz, Top/Bottom in 1080p/24Hz and 720p/60Hz, and Checkerboard 1080p/60Hz.

This will for sure make the owners of models from this year quite happy and may bring more consumers interested into the more affordable 3D DLP solutions with larger diagonal that Mitsubishi is offering as compared to the 3D-capable LCD and Plasma TVs. Still, although the newer TV’s will understand the HDMI 1.4a standards for stereo 3D without the need of additional hardware, they will not be able to display 3D content in Full HD resolution, because they use the DLP checkerboard pattern for showing the 3D content. But then again the 3D LCD and Plasma HDTVs only support 24Hz 3D mode in Full HD resolution too and that is only good for movies and for comfortable gaming in S3D you again have to go to the lower 720p at 60Hz 3D mode. And the owners of earlier models of Mitsubishi 3D DLP HDTVs can still get HDMI 1.4a stereo 3D support with the help of the additional Mitsubishi 3DA-1 3D Adapter that sells for $99 USD.